Fort Hill Group developed a 10-year strategic research plan for the FAA Human Factors Division.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is engaged in an extensive effort to modernize the National Airspace System (NAS). This phased, incremental transition involves the introduction of new air traffic control (ATC) automation, technologies, and procedures to replace legacy equipment and services. The modernization to an automated NAS aims to achieve the system-wide benefits of increased safety, capacity, and efficiency. Identifying the human factors research needs to ensure a smooth transition to an automated NAS is a fundamental challenge to the practice of program management in research and development. In response to this challenge, the FAA asked Fort Hill Group to develop a strategic research plan for the FAA’s Air Traffic (AT) / Technical Operations (Tech Ops) Human Factors Team. The plan provides the AT/Tech Ops Human Factors Team and community of practice with a clear, 10-year strategic direction and measurable success criteria that support the transition to an automated NAS.

The AT/Tech Ops Human Factors Strategic Research Plan content was defined through the execution of a requirements analysis to determine the current state of human factors in the NAS and a high-level gap analysis to identify opportunities for future human factors research advancements based on industry needs and Agency level direction. The strategic plan is composed of five research categories that are defined by related objectives and lower level strategies.